Wilhelm Ebstein

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Wilhelm Ebstein
Wilhelm Ebstein.jpg
Born27 November 1836[1]
Jauer, Prussia (modern Jawor, Poland)
Died22 October 1912[1][2]
Göttingen, Germany
OccupationPhysician, writer

Wilhelm Ebstein (27 November 1836, Jauer, Prussian Silesia – 22 October 1912) was a German physician.[1] He is best known for Ebstein's anomaly and for proposing a low-carbohydrate high-fat diet to treat obesity.

Biography[]

Ebstein was born in Jauer, Prussian Silesia (modern Jawor, Poland).[3] He studied medicine at the University of Breslau under Friedrich Theodor von Frerichs and at the University of Berlin under Rudolf Virchow and Moritz Heinrich Romberg,[4] graduating from the latter institution in 1859. During the same year he was named physician at the in Breslau. In 1868 he became chief physician at the "Findelhaus" (municipal poorhouse); and from 1874 was a professor at the University of Göttingen, where he subsequently served as director of the university hospital and dispensary (from 1877).[5] Ebstein was an early advocate of a low-carbohydrate diet.[6] He authored Die Fettleibigkeit (Corpulenz), which recommended a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet for treating obesity.[3] It restricted carbohydrates by forbidding potatoes, sugar and sweets. All sorts of meat were recommended including fat meats.[7] His daily menu permitted "two or three glasses of light wine" but shunned beer.[8]

Ebstein authored medical studies on diabetes, gout and obesity.[9] He died at age 75 in Göttingen.[1]

Achievements[]

Ebstein's specialties were studies of malassimilation and improper nutrition, of which he introduced a number of new procedures for treatment. This included the virtual elimination of carbohydrates from the diet, while allowing fat to be administered with adequate protein; Ebstein believed that fat contained a nutritive value equivalent to two and a half times that of carbohydrates. The following works are related to dietary and metabolism issues:

  • "Die Fettleibigkeit (Corpulenz)"., 7th ed., Wiesbaden, 1887 - On obesity.
  • "Fett oder Kohlenhydrate", Wiesbaden, 1885 - "Fat or Carbohydrates."
  • "Wasserentziehung und Anstrengende Muskelbewegungen," ib. 1885 - Dehydration and strenuous muscle movements.
  • Max Joseph Oertel: "Die Ebsteinsche Flugschrift über Wasserentziehung", Leipzig, 1885) - Ebstein's pamphlet on dehydration. Ebstein was a leading expert in regards to research of dehydration.[5]

Other noteworthy works by Ebstein include:

  • "Nierenkrankheiten Nebst den Affectionen der Nierenbecken und der Urnieren", in von Ziemssen's "Handbuch der Speziellen Pathologie und Therapie", 2d ed., vol. ix. - Kidney disease and also affections of the renal pelvis and mesonephros.
  • "Traumatische Leukämie," in "Deutsche Med. Wochenschrift," 1894 - Traumatic leukemia.
  • "Handbuch der Praktischen Medizin," ib. 1899 - Manual of practical medicine.
  • "Die Medizin im Alten Testament," Stuttgart, 1901 - Medicine of the Old Testament.
  • "Handbuch der Praktischen Medizin," (with Gustav Schwalbe), ib. 1901
  • "Die Krankheiten im Feldzuge Gegen Russland," ib. 1902 - On diseases experienced on a campaign to Russia.
  • "Dorf- und Stadthygiene," ib. 1902 - Village and city hygiene.
  • "Die Medizin in Bibel und Talmud" - Medicine in the (New Testament and Talmud), ib. 1903.[5]

Ebstein also published works in regards to medical illness of prominent Germans in history, such as Martin Luther and Arthur Schopenhauer.[4]

His name was attached to the eponymous Ebstein's anomaly (a rare congenital heart defect) [10] and Pel–Ebstein fever (a remittent fever associated with Hodgkin's disease).[11]

Bibliography[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Mazurak M, Kusa J (2017). "The Two Anomalies of Wilhelm Ebstein". Tex. Heart Inst. J. 44 (3): 198–201. doi:10.14503/THIJ-16-6063. PMC 5505398. PMID 28761400.
  2. ^ van Son JA, Konstantinov IE, Zimmermann V. (2001). Wilhelm Ebstein and Ebstein's malformation. European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery 20 (5): 1082-1085.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Hurst, J. Willis. (1995). Portrait of a Contributor: Wilhelm Ebstein (1836-1912). Clinical Cardiology 18: 115-116.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Wilhelm Ebstein @ Who Named It
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c JewishEncyclopedia.com - EBSTEIN, WILHELM: at www.jewishencyclopedia.com by Isidore Singer, Frederick T. Haneman.
  6. ^ Albala, Ken. (2015). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues. SAGE Publications. p. 915. ISBN 978-1-4522-4301-6
  7. ^ Bray, George A; Bouchard, Claude. (2005). Handbook of Obesity: Etiology and Pathophysiology. Taylor & Francis. pp. 19-20. ISBN 0-8247-0969-1
  8. ^ Segrave, Kerry. (2008). Obesity in America, 1850-1939: A History of Social Attitudes and Treatment. McFarland. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7864-4120-4
  9. ^ Anonymous. (1936). Wilhelm Ebstein. Nature 138: 914.
  10. ^ Circulation Congenital Heart Disease for the Adult Cardiologist
  11. ^ Medical Dictionary Pel-Ebstein fever
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